more from
Thrill Jockey Records
We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Moonlit Reveries

by Elena Setien

/
  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Moonlit Reveries available in a limited number of Translucent Blue LPs. All LPs include a digital download card.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Moonlit Reveries via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $24 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Moonlit Reveries available in a Compact Disc.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Moonlit Reveries via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

1.
Hard Heart 03:59
Swimming low I’m following a trail Letting go beyond the other veil. And we could follow the rain In this soothing afternoon. We could walk beyond the clouds Following the moon. La, la, la, la… Swimming low, I’m following a trail Letting go beyond the other veil. Open up your heart! Open up your heart!
2.
Try losing control Such an easy feeling Moving along Try just being wrong Such an easy feeling Just moving along Try to give up all spaces Watching all the faces Sliding along Oh! I think I remember I wasn’t here before I think I remember I wasn’t here before Just moving along Watching all the faces Losing control Just moving along Losing control Watching all the faces Losing control We’re just moving along Moving along Moving along Watching all the faces Losing control Losing control
3.
Surfacing 04:28
Surfacing from the bottom of the river Is a part of my body leaning towards the shore Did I expect us to drown? From the bottom of the river is my body part emerging And it points, it points, it points Towards the shore Things we get to know Shiny, shiny treasures that we show Stabilized by a feeble song A feeble song Telling me to shine From the bottom of the river My body part emerges From the bottom of the river My body part emerges
4.
Strange 04:22
Strange as if a cloud Began to shine Giving light to corners Giving light to the dark Strange as if a bird Came running to your house Hoping for a generous reward Strange as if a tree Began to rain Giving water to the flowers Giving water to the fields Strange as if a porcupine Began to swim Dive into the ocean Staying deep within For all we know Everything we’ve learnt May be wrong Strange as if a rock Began to speak Sing with unfamiliar sounds That take us straight back to the ground Strange as if a fish Began to walk Greeting everybody Mingling with the crowds
5.
Asking 03:22
Catching bits and pieces Trying to be wise Grasping some old meaning It’s the lessons from the skies Nothing’s there forever more Letting sounds of evening through the door Humming with a nature song Streaming from the woods Nothing’s right and nothing’s wrong It’s a melody you never lose Nothing’s there forever more Letting sounds of evening through the door Asking the stars above my tiny head Drawing with images that were never there Coming back with empty hands Showing empty ways Giving back the empty places To be falling into space Nothing’s there forever more Letting sounds of evening through the door
6.
When all our queens Left wandering They walked through fields Through valleys deep They moved in moonlit reveries They moved in moonlit reveries When all night’s glow Begun to fail And morning scents Came running with the air They moved in sunlit reveries They moved in sunlit reveries The queens were misplaced They followed tunnels Followed old trails And brought back Vivid images They brought back Vivid images
7.
Peculiar 03:37
Started with an opportunity Left me on a climbing wall Hanging from a very fine line Hoping that I wouldn’t fall It felt so restlessly peculiar It felt so restlessly peculiar Following some clear instructions Numbers leading to a form Like a tree with all its branches Growing to a shape we know It felt so restlessly peculiar It felt so restlessly peculiar All the songs that we were given Came along in harmony It’s a quiet celebration A happening we just can’t see It felt so restlessly peculiar It felt so restlessly peculiar
8.
Morning Song 03:36
Keep looking for connections Keep moving the sound There’s no clear destination In this place that you have found You have found You can hear a melody A melody Melody Hollow voices of reactions They give you nothing to be warm Possibilities in numbers Then there’s that place you have found You have found You can hear a morning song A morning song Morning song
9.
Visions in the morning light Colored lizards flying through the skies Speaking of a shiny mood Telling me that I can stay with you Hoping to regain a certain peace of mind Visions in the morning light All the birds are singing to the wild Singing with a clear voice Telling me that I can make my choice Hoping to regain a certain peace of mind Hoping to regain a certain peace of mind
10.
Mothers 04:10
Calling from behind the door Wanting me to tell you how to do You’re still my little child Soon growing to be a young man To be a young man Taking steps beside your brother Looking around searching for answers You’re still my little child Soon growing to be a young man To be a young man Mothers need to grow too Like plants on the riverbank do Watching water run free Like a young man free Like a young woman free Like a young man free Like a young woman free
11.
Pintado II 02:43
Certain colors far away Tell me something’s coming For sure! It’s near! Certain colors far away I’m here Certain colors far away Tell me something’s coming, something’s coming Certain colors far away Down the avenue Down the avenue

about

Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Elena Setién uses her sweeping vocal range and delicate arrangements to create a universe where dream worlds converge with reality. Her compositions, grounded by her remarkable voice and her guitar or piano, ripple with textures and thoughtful details. Setién’s masterfully allegorical songs are both emotionally immediate and provoking. A musician’s musician, Setién has drawn collaborators from far and wide, from her improvisational duo Little Red Suitcase to more recent collaborations with Steve Gunn, Mary Lattimore, and fellow Basque musicians Xabier Erkizia and Grande Days. For Moonlit Reveries, a hallucinatory promenade of mood and rhythm, Setién is joined by renowned drummer/percussionist Glenn Kotche of Wilco.

At the core of Moonlit Reveries is the inspiration that Setién and Kotche found in one another. The two met while Kotche was touring Spain with Wilco, Kotche having been a fan of Setién’s 2022 album Unfamiliar Minds. Immediately the two started discussing collaboration which Setién began by using a series of unique drum patterns from Kotche’s “A Beat A Week” series as the basis for tracks like “Surfacing” and “Asking”. Kotche then sent in fresh drum takes for select pieces that embellished the frameworks set by Setién. Though not every piece features his drumming, his presence on the album invigorated Setién’s desire to delve further into rhythm as an avenue of expression, incorporating more Latin-influenced rhythmic architecture to her music than there previously has been. Says Setién, “Funnily enough, I, being a Spanish artist, sought inspiration in the rhythms of a Chicago drummer to reach something with a Latin feel to it. A somehow surrealistic way to get there.” The songs of Moonlit Reveries also make use of more guitar than Setién previously had ever explored, which Setién traces back to Steve Gunn introducing her to the music of Bridget St. John. “What fascinated me right from the beginning, was the calmness in her voice and her low register. Her music inspired me to try to write songs with a guitar rather than a keyboard: there's more space for the voice and the sound qualities of both voice and guitar kind of melt into each other.”

Moonlit Reveries is an embrace of wonder, an ode to the alluring beauty, and glow of dream states. For Setién, dreams are to be appreciated, “I remember my dreams very often and they are part of my everyday life, as much as other everyday things.” The compositions are speckled with ethereal embellishments, from ghostly harpsichords to cavernous echoes to reverberating kalimba. Like the frosts of winter melting away, the darker textures of her previous albums give way to flashes of brightness. The twinkle of “Coloured Lizards” lilts with its delicate breeziness. Title track “Moonlit Reveries” revels in a playful mystique, Setién’s words carried by the wind across the night’s sky. For the gentle “Hard Heart” and the waltzing “Strange,” Setién kept things relatively unembellished, valuing the potency of their simplicity. “Mothers” captures the hopeful embrace of parenthood, letting go, and the cycle of life; it was written in the wake of Low’s Mimi Parker’s premature death. A mother and artist herself, Setién was deeply saddened by the loss while drawing strength from what Parker accomplished in her short time.

The winner of several Basque music awards, Elena Setién’s beautiful voice, creative arrangements, and both improvisational and compositional experience make for sophisticated songs with singular textural approaches. Her otherworldly sounds are perfectly complemented by Kotche’s light and agile syncopations throughout. Shading her parables with impressionistic hues, Elena Setién’s Moonlit Reveries is a touching embrace of the mysterious, a sparkling revelry of light dancing across a horizon, lifting the darkness from above.

credits

released January 26, 2024

All tracks written and arranged by Elena Setién except Asking, Moonlit Reveries, and Peculiar, co-written with Glenn Kotche. Pintado II is based on Pintado, a track from the album “Happiness of Living” by Duo on Fillmore and is used courtesy of co-writers Darin Gray, Kassin, Glenn Kotche and Guillereme Valerio as well as the record label Northern Spy.

Elena Setién sings and plays guitar, keyboards, violin and flute on all tracks. Glenn Kotche plays drums and percussion on tracks 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, and Mikel Azpiroz plays bass synth on track 7.

Produced by Elena Setién. Recorded in the Basque Country and Chicago between July and November 2022. Mixed by Mikel Azpiroz at Mamusik Studio. Mastered in Denmark by Redredpaw Mastering. Artwork by Allan Daastrup.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Elena Setien Spain

Singer-songwriter, musician and multi-instrumentalist Elena Setien was based in Copenhagen, Denmark for many years. As she returned to San Sebastian, Spain- she recorded her second solo album, Dreaming of Earthly Things which is to be released by the german label EnjaYellowbird.
Elena´s music is personal and direct: her sound is instantly recognizable and brings the listener to evocative spheres.
... more

contact / help

Contact Elena Setien

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Elena Setien, you may also like: